“‘So I brought them out of the land of Egypt and led them to the wilderness.

I will scatter the Egyptians among the nations, and disperse them among foreign countries.

“Son of man, turn toward ¹  Pharaoh king of Egypt, and prophesy against him and against all Egypt.

You engaged in prostitution with the Egyptians, your sexually aroused neighbors, ¹  multiplying your promiscuity and provoking me to anger.

The nations heard about him; he was trapped in their pit. They brought him with hooks to the land of Egypt. ¹ 

Yet she increased her prostitution, remembering the days of her youth when she engaged in prostitution in the land of Egypt.

“‘This is what the sovereign Lord says: I will put an end to the hordes of Egypt, by the hand of King Nebuchadrezzar ¹  of Babylon.

I will pour out my anger upon Pelusium, ¹  the stronghold of Egypt; I will cut off ²  the hordes of Thebes.

I will scatter the Egyptians among the nations and disperse them among foreign countries. Then they will know that I am the Lord.”

But they rebelled against me, and refused to listen to me; no one got rid of their detestable idols, ¹  nor did they abandon the idols of Egypt. Then I decided to pour out ²  my rage on them and fully vent my anger against them in the midst of the land of Egypt.

I will turn the land of Egypt into a desolation in the midst of desolate lands; for forty years her cities will lie desolate in the midst of ruined cities. I will scatter Egypt among the nations and disperse them among foreign countries.

“‘This is what the sovereign Lord says: I will destroy the idols, and put an end to the gods of Memphis. There will no longer be a prince from the land of Egypt; so I will make the land of Egypt fearful. ¹ 

But this one from Israel’s royal family ¹  rebelled against the king of Babylon ²  by sending his emissaries to Egypt to obtain horses and a large army. Will he prosper? Will the one doing these things escape? Can he break the covenant and escape?

I said to them, “Each of you must get rid of the detestable idols you keep before you, ¹  and do not defile yourselves with the idols of Egypt; I am the Lord your God.”

I acted for the sake of my reputation, ¹  so that I would not be profaned before the nations among whom they lived, ²  before whom I revealed myself by bringing them out of the land of Egypt. ³ 

Just as I entered into judgment with your fathers in the wilderness of the land of Egypt, so I will enter into judgment with you, declares the sovereign Lord.

So I will put an end to your obscene conduct and your prostitution which you have practiced in the land of Egypt. ¹  You will not seek their help ²  or remember Egypt anymore.

Then all those living in Egypt will know that I am the Lord because they were a reed staff ¹  for the house of Israel;

The land of Egypt will become a desolate ruin. Then they will know that I am the Lord. Because he said, “The Nile is mine and I made it,”

I am against ¹  you and your waterways. I will turn the land of Egypt into an utter desolate ruin from Migdol ²  to Syene, ³  as far as the border with Ethiopia.